Gas Guru helps you fill up your car on the cheap

Compared to the past few years, this summer brought with it a little bit of relief at the pump. In a time when gas prices are usually soaring, they’ve actually been falling. But even at a lower-than-normal price, it’s never bad to save a few bucks where you can. That’s the idea behind Gas Guru, […]

Compared to the past few years, this summer brought with it a little bit of relief at the pump. In a time when gas prices are usually soaring, they’ve actually been falling. But even at a lower-than-normal price, it’s never bad to save a few bucks where you can. That’s the idea behind Gas Guru, an app that gives you the low-down on where to find the cheapest gas.

Users can either type in where they are or turn on their location services to help Gas Guru determine where they’re currently located. In just seconds, they’ll have a comprehensive list of nearby gas stations with info on whether the price is the “Best” meaning its in the top 20 percent of the cheapest gas available, “Good” meaning it’s in the top 50 percent, or other, which is any price not falling in the first two categories. The gas stations are provided via a top 40 list and can also be viewed on a map if desired.

If that’s all Gas Guru did, I’d consider it a fairly useful app. Instead, it goes steps further, providing not just info like directions and a phone number for the stations whose gas it just priced out, but even nearby attractions to the gas stations like restaurants, coffee shops, auto repair, ATMs and roadside assistance. You can essentially plan a trip to dinner based on where the cheapest gas is located. Not half bad, Gas Guru!

About the only feature Gas Guru lacks is a way to look up electric car charging stations. That might come in handy, especially if you want to know the cheapest gas station near a charging station, but for everyone driving gas-only vehicles, there’s not a better app available. Gas Guru is the ideal app for the price conscious driver. There simply isn’t a good excuse not to download this app if you own a car.

Dan Kricke has been playing with electronics and writing about them for years. He loved his Sega Dreamcast and now the PlayStation 3. On the iPhone, he's a fan of sports apps and anything that offers new music.